All for Naught
by Pchew
Summary: Wherein deals are struck, lines are crossed, and Luffy's crew may never be the same again. What's a Strawhat crew to do without their Strawhat captain? Pre-Thriller Bark. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

AN: AHHH! Another fic! I have no idea what to say about this one, other than I'm sorry it fails so much so far. But since it was written, I figured I should share rather than let it rot away on my computer. Yeah. I can already tell you that updates for this will not be very often because I've started back to school, and inspiration for this story is hard to come by. It's really just a side project. Nothing is owned by me other than the words that come out of my fingers oxo  
>Read now please?<p>

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><p>Two figures stood on deck, one was tall and broad, obviously a man of great importance; the other, lithe but muscular, someone who was much more than he appeared to be. Neither one refused to meet the other's eyes.<p>

It would be too hard that way.

"Do you agree?" the elder of the pair said. His voice was rough, but caring.

"I...I guess you don't really leave me a choice, old man," replied his companion. The younger man's defeated tone betrayed his emotionless façade.

Thankfully, the former made no comment on the matter. Instead, he turned, and headed for the side of the ship.

"Then let's go. We haven't any time to waste."

"Wait…"

The important man turned around, one eyebrow raised lightly. The other stood firm, trying to regain control of his voice before speaking.

"You _promise_?"

"Aye, boy, I do."

The smaller nodded as his companion began to leave. Releasing a tired sigh, he decided that it would be best not to say goodbye to anyone; not to take a final look around his, no, _the_ ship.

Not his.

He couldn't believe what he was about to do.

Taking a swift jump over the edge of the ship, the boy landed in a dingy and sailed away from his home on the sea.

Only, it wasn't his anymore.

He had traded it in, and whether the exchange was for the better or worse, there was no way of knowing.

Fate would have to decide that for him.

-x-

Morning came, and the first thing that anyone aboard the Thousand Sunny noticed was that it was quiet.

Very, very quiet.

Waking up to silence was almost unheard of among the Mugiwara no Kaizuko, and when it did occur, most found it rather disturbing.

As each crew member emerged from his or her bunk, the silence became more and more deafening.

Zoro was the first to call attention to the situation, saying that obviously, if there wasn't the sound of things or people crashing, something was wrong.

"Speaking of crashes," Franky had commented, "Where's Luffy-bro?"

"Didn't he have watch last night?"

Usopp frowned, "You're right, Chopper. I came and woke him about three for his turn. Since he's not out here, he's probably asleep in the crow's nest."

Grudgingly, the sniper made his way up the mast to look for the young captain. Once he reached the top, he was surprised to find hide, nor hat of Luffy.

"He isn't there!" The sniper called as he descended the latter.

"Shit-head's probably in the kitchen raiding all the food again."

Everyone made their way to the galley, with Sanji leading the way. The blond threw open the door, ready to kick the other boy into next week, but once again they were me with an empty room.

"This is new," Nami said.

"What about Captain-san's hammock?"

Zoro shook his head at Robin's question, "We would have heard him come in, but I guess it doesn't hurt to check."

So, check they did. But still, there was no sign of Luffy.

The crew began to panic. Where the hell was their captain?

A ship wide search was initiated, and when they still hadn't found the seventeen year old by lunch, it became painfully apparent that he wasn't there at all.

"But…we aren't even near an island! Where the fuck could he have gotten too?"

"M-Maybe he fe-…"

All eyes turned to the small doctor, each daring him to finish that sentence.

They would refuse to accept that he had fallen overboard in the middle of the night.

"But it's still a possibility…" Chopper had tried to reason, but one further look from his friends told him that possibility or not, it wasn't to be discussed.

Just as they were about to further reprimand the little reindeer, Zoro's keen eyes caught something on the figure head.

Cautiously, the swordsman walked over to inspect it.

What he found made the normally stoic man gasp.

It was a small note. And no matter how many times he read it, he couldn't bring himself to believe the words in front of him.

"Oi! You guys should hear this."

The other six pirates stopped their bickering and leaned in.

"What it is Marimo?"

Ignoring the nickname, Zoro began to read.

_Hey guys, _

_Yeah, I'm gone. Sorry. I can't tell you where and I can't tell you why. All you gotta worry about is that I _should_ still be okay by the time you find this. I can handle myself. I don't know if I'll ever see you again, so Zoro's in charge now; try to listen to him. _

_This means you, Sanji._

_-Monkey D. Luffy_

_P.S. I'm watching you. So don't kill each other. _

No one knew whether to ogle in the fact that their captain was literate, or scream over his words.

They chose to scream.

"HE'S ABANDONED US! OOH, WE'RE GOING TO DIE NOW."

"SHUT UP Usopp! Zoro, we got to go find him!"

The green haired man didn't move. Instead, he stared further at the paper in his hands before crumping it up and throwing it in the waters below.

"Luffy wouldn't abandon us. He obviously didn't tell us everything. There's nothing we can do now…."

Nami's shrill voice interrupted him, "So you're just going to leave it at this? What the hell, Zoro? I thought you were his best friend!"

The bushido glared, "I am! If you'd shut the fuck up for five seconds and let me finish, you'd know that I was going to say 'there's nothing we can do now except try to figure out what he's up too!'"

Nami paled, and not even the chef dared to reply to the first mate's outburst. He knew Luffy the best, and their captain was missing. To question that loyalty was almost treason.

"So…bro, where do we start?" Franky asked after a heavy pause.

Zoro looked out over the waves, contemplating the cyborg's question before grinning.

"Simple, we check with the marines."

AN: Chapter one, finished. Any reviews, thoughts, and/or criticisms are much appreciated, my little pirates. (:


	2. Chapter 2

AN: OHMYMUGIWARA I DID _NOT_ MEAN TO LEAVE YOU GUYS SO LONG! Forgive meh D': Real life decided I had to be a grown up for a while. It was boring. Anyway, short chapter is short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. (Please excuse my switching between Japanese and English terms, my brain doesn't like to stay to one language. Ever.) (:

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><p>Four months, two days, eighteen hours, and thirty minutes.<p>

That's how long the Strawhats had been without their enigmatic captain.

And it was driving them insane. The Thousand Sunny wasn't supposed to go so long without some kind of chaos. But with Luffy gone, the ship had become nothing short of quiet. Organized, even.

It just wasn't right.

Roronoa Zoro leaned over the side of the ship, sighing. He couldn't help but think about the last time he saw the Rubber-Man.

_The bushido felt something prod against his forehead, calling upon everything he'd ever learned about patience; the green haired man ignored the interruption of his nap._

"_Ne, Zoro!"_

_Shifting slightly, the first mate in question still feigned slumber. _

_Too bad his captain wouldn't buy it._

"_Zoroooooo!" the younger man wined louder, poking his friend more._

_Finally, one of Zoro's green eyes opened to a half glare._

"_What, Lu?"_

_The boy's infamous grin widened, "Oh good, you're up. Come fish with me!"_

_Zoro let a small chuckle escape, "Don't you mean 'come watch me while I fish 'cause otherwise I'll fall and drown and Nami will murder you in your sleep'?"_

"_Well, that's one way to put it. But come ooooooooonnnnnn! I'd ask Usopp to do it, but I want to hang out with _you_."_

_As Luffy pouted, Zoro felt his macho walls crumble. Slowly, he got up and followed the other to his special seat, shaking his head all the while; afternoon nap totally forgotten._

Shaking the memory from his head, the nineteen year old's thoughts traveled closer to the present; to where his friend could be.

Twice already, they'd confronted Marines, hoping for just a glimpse of where Luffy might have disappeared to. Every single member of the crew knew that they had to be involved some way or another. It was the only explanation!

The first time, it was a small squadron out at sea. Franky had hollered, saying he saw a familiar flash of red aboard the opposing ship. Instantly, Zoro had called for an attack, thinking they had gotten lucky. After a quick battle, and a thorough search of the ship, the crew was devastated to find neither hide nor hair of Monkey D. Luffy.

The cyborg never abandoned the notion that he saw that vest.

The second run, which took place about five weeks later, was a little more interesting. The entire crew was out on deck, going about various activities when a frustrated yell broke the calm air around them. A very familiar frustrated yell. No one on board the _Thousand Sunny_ had to be told what to do. Reflexively they boarded the Marine vessel, demanding that Luffy be released, but again they came up empty handed. Everyone was flabbergasted.

They knew what they heard.

Suddenly, Zoro was brought back to reality by a call from the ship's sniper.

"Land ho!"

The interim captain looked around, and sure enough, a small summer island was in sight. He decided to call everyone to deck.

"Oi!" Sanji said, emerging from the kitchen, "What do you want?"

"Usopp found us an island, and we're going ashore."

Nami was the next to speak up, "We don't need any supplies, though."

"But we do need information, and any source is a good source."

There were no protests after that.

-x-

Afraid of losing anyone else, all seven of the Strawhats went into town together. It was a calm stop for a while, with the crew taking turns to interrogate the villagers.

Calm, that is, until Zoro and Sanji began to fight. None of them remember how it started, as was usual for the routine spats, but what they do remember, is that it attracted some very unwanted attention.

"YOU THERE!" a Marine shouted, "STOP!"

The crew paused.

"Does he really think that'll work?" Franky asked.

The others just shrugged.

"This is all your fault, Marimo."

"Shut up and run, Dart Brow!"

As he watched the wanted group flee, the Marine quickly pulled out a small Den Den Mushi and called for backup.

"Captain! I've got runners!"

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

-x-

The crew ran for what felt like ever, eventually coming to a stop at the edge of town.

"You…you think they're following us?" Usopp asked breathlessly.

Nami answered him with a nod, "Probably."

"This feels wrong without Captain-san."

The others agreed whole heartedly with Robin. Before, it was always Luffy who had brought the Government upon them, and no matter how much the crew had yelled at him, his crew had found some form of enjoyment in their little games of cat and mouse with the Government.

"There they are! Get them!"

The crew turned around abruptly, and came face to face with a reasonable size hoard of Marines.

"Hold them until the Captain gets here!" one said, "Don't let a single one of those pirate scum escape!"

Nami sighed, "Is anyone else really wanting to blame that rubber idiot right now?"

"But Luffy isn't here…"

"So?"

Before Chopper could answer, a new voice broke through the chaos.

"What the hell is going on?"

Speak of the Devil Fruit…

* * *

><p>AN: Hehehe. Any ideas yet? Anyway, I'll see you all next time. Whenever that may be.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

AN: CHAPTER TIIIIIIIIIIIME! Was not expecting to get one up so soonish. Anyway, I'm not very happy with this chapter, but then again, I never am. Baha :D Now I'm out of words...  
>Just fyi, I still own nothing. It makes me a very sad lady.<p>

* * *

><p>Everyone, pirate and Marine alike, turned towards the new voice, each with their own motif. On all seven of the Strawhat's faces was etched a look of curiosity, while the Marines simply seemed to regard it with a hateful respect.<p>

"I said 'What the hell is going on', now someone better answer me." The owner of the voice was hiding in the shadows of an alley way, so he could not be seen clearly, but by the silhouette, one could tell that it was a young man, either in his late teens or early twenties.

His voice was light, yet it sounded bored and angry all at the same time.

"Captain!" one of the Marines said, "We weren't expecting you this soon! Weren't you patrolling on the other side of town?"

"That doesn't answer my question, sailor."

"Right, sorry sir. Well, you see, we caught sight of these fugitives here, we gave chase…"

"And?"

As the two officials continued their conversation, the pirate crew watched, commenting quietly amongst themselves.

"Is anyone else getting a way too familiar vibe here?"

"Aye, Usopp, I am. I don't like this." Zoro said absentmindedly.

A groan brought them all back to the argument in front of them.

"Alright. I get it. You were doing your job and blah blah now I'm here. Let's see what we got."

They could see the outline of his head shift to the crew's direction, then, he paused.

"_This _is what you guys called me down here for?"

The Marines looked a little worried now; if they're superior wasn't angry before, he definitely was now.

"You're all in so much trouble! I believe your orders were to let these specific pirates go."

"B-but…"

"Tell me, Lieutenant, what part of that was so hard to understand?"

The Marine deflated, "Nothing, sir. Forgive me for disobeying."

Ignoring the apology, the officer turned his attention to Zoro, "You, why are you here?"

The swordsman hesitated.

"Fine, don't answer me. Be a bastard."

Something in the other fellow's pouting tone made something inside Zoro ease, like he could tell him without getting them into too much trouble, "If you must know, we're looking for our own captain. He's run off."

"I see…," he seemed to falter, "All of you, go away."

Zoro knew that this man knew something, but not wanting to push their good luck further, ordered his crew to retreat.

They'd have another chance, he was sure of it.

As everyone scattered, the Marine Captain had one more thing to say.

"Oi! Strawhats!"

The pirates in question stared at the figure, refusing to say another word.

The young man sighed, "Just know that a deal has been struck in your favor. You've all been pardoned. Don't screw it up."

Then, he retreated into the shadows.

"How odd," Robin said airily.

"You're telling me, sis."

Cautiously, they made their way back to the ship. It was a long journey, with the town being far inland, and it was near dusk when they reached the _Thousand Sunny_.

It was obvious that everyone was unraveled by the day, but still Sanji offered dinner, and never being a group to pass on a meal, the others obliged.

They followed the chef to the galley lazily. As they sat down to eat, Nami couldn't help but let out a cry of anguish.

"I really thought we could get him this time!" she slammed her head into the table, "What if we never find Luffy?"

"Melorine~! Don't worry about that idiot! Here, have some more stew~!"

Though she accepted the food, the red head did nothing to acknowledge her friend's advances.

Thus, the Mugiwara No Kaizuko had yet another uneventful meal. It was odd how something as simple as having to protect your food from rubbery fingers made something so mundane seem so special.

Sometime later, with even less grace then when they had gotten there, the crew filed from the galley to retire to bed. They stopped however, when a familiar shadow greeted them on deck.

"You're not going to find him, you know."

It was the young Marine Captain from earlier.

Usopp put on his bravest face and stared the officer down, "What are you doing here?"

A sigh, "Calm down."

Zoro stepped forward, remembering that he was technically captain and Luffy, wherever he was, would have his hide if this man got to his nakama.

"Why should we? Just because you let us go one time? And what do you mean 'you're not going to find him'? What do you know?"

The Marine groaned, "You ask too many questions. I already told you that you were pardoned, baka. Why would I come here just to arrest you?"

"Answer me! What. Do. You. Know?"

"I know you aren't going to find your captain."

The entire crew was livid by this point. How dare some upstart Marine brat talk to them like that!

Sanji fell in line beside Zoro, glaring.

"What have you done to Luffy?"

The boy shifted, "What makes you think _I_ did anything?"

"Because you've given us every reason too."

The rest of the Strawhat's nodded in the dark, but the Marine wasn't deterred; instead, he laughed.

"Might I ask what's so funny?" Robin asked. She did not like the sound of their opponent's laugh.

It was too familiar, but it was also sad. Almost like a dear, heartbroken, friend.

Finally, the Marine calmed down enough to answer without choking, "He and I had a…talk, of course. But I didn't _do_anything to Mugiwara."

"Spit it out already!" someone yelled.

"Know why your captain won't be found? He doesn't **want **to be found."

Silence engulfed the deck.

Was this stranger speaking the truth? Why would their captain say that? Did he not want them anymore?

After a moment, Zoro broke the pause; his teeth were clenched so tight Chopper feared they would crack under the pressure.

"Shut up and get off our ship."

The other didn't move.

"Dammit! I told you to leave!" the green haired youth hollered, unsheathing his sword.

Before the Marine could answer, another voice interrupted from below.

"Captain! Just got orders in from headquarters. We gotta go!"

The young man looked down, still hidden by the shadows.

"Right. Give me a second," he turned back to the crew before him, "I told you, the Government doesn't want you anymore. Take the opportunity and run. Be free. Your captain would want that." As he made to leap over the side, a brief ray of moonlight hit the Marine, giving a more detailed outline of him. The pirates felt their breath hitch.

Then, just as quietly as he came, the boy was gone.

Zoro couldn't help but notice how sad those onyx eyes were.

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><p>AN: Zoro knows something ;D Do you know something? I hope you at least think you know something. Let me know what you think you know! I wanna hear! It might just give me ideas o3o<p>

Anyway, in case you can't tell, I tried to make things a little more obvious this time around, because I don't have the heart to be very conspicuous here. All shall be reveled soon, dearies. I have plans, man. PLANS I SAY!

...note to self: no more caffiene before an end note. Or any notes. Ever.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I LIVE! Ahem, this took way longer than I anticipated. Forgive me OTL. Kay, so. About this chapter: it actually pleases me, can you believe it? I hope it pleases you too :D (Can you believe I wrote this to avoid studying for finals?)

* * *

><p>"Zoro, please stop pacing. You're going to wear another hole in the deck…"<p>

It was three days after their counter with the Marine captain, and the young swordsman was even further on the edge. They all had agreed to stay in the area until they were positive Luffy wasn't there, but they had no other leads to go on and were temporarily at an impasse. It was infuriating.

"Sorry, but I can't get that brat out of my head!"

Sanji snickered, "Aw, does Marimo have a boy crush?"

Zoro shot the cook a glare before continuing, "He knows more than he let on, that much is obvious. But what exactly is it that he knows? And you all saw his eyes…it's creepy how familiar they were. Gah!"

"Calm down," Robin sighed, "If you want to find out what he knows, why don't you just find him and ask him?"

The boy blinked, "I guess that could work."

The others facepalmed; of course Zoro hadn't already thought of that.

"But what if he doesn't want to tell us anything?" Usopp asked.

Zoro laughed, placing a large hand on his friend's shoulder, "That's easy. We're just going to have to make him."

-x-

It was decided that the crew would split into two search parties, despite their still wavering fears of losing yet another nakama. More ground covered at once left less of a chance that the young captain would be gone before they found him, which meant a bigger chance of finding _their_ captain.

Franky and the girls would take one half of town, while Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper would patrol the other. If anyone saw anything, they were to send out a signal: a flare, a dust cloud, a scream or anything else that would bring the others too them.

Everyone said their goodbyes with haste, and the search was on.

"Chopper, before we really get started, see if you can get a scent," Zoro said.

The little reindeer sniffled, looking ashamed, "I've been trying too since we got here, you know, to see if I could smell Luffy, but all the foliage of this island is messing me up. Too many smelly flowers. I'm sorry."

The other men smiled sadly at their youngest crew mate. They should have known he'd already tried to sniff things out. Chopper was smart, and he loved Luffy. Why wouldn't he use his best hope first?

Usopp leaned down to hug his friend, "It's okay, Chopper. That's this stupid places fault. Not yours."

"Yeah," Sanji mumbled, taking a puff of his cigarette, "And it's the stupid captain's fault we're even here to begin with."

The doctor grinned, "Yeah! Now let's go get some answ-…where did Zoro go?"

The other two looked around before groaning.

"We get sidetracked for just a second and that idiot gets lost!"

-x-

The swordsman groaned, staring at the dead end in front of him.

"Stupid walls popping up out of nowhere!"

Zoro looked around, frustrated that the other boys would wander off like this when they had a mission to accomplish. Bakas.

He had been walking around for a good twenty minutes before he realized he'd seen the same meat shop seven times. After checking it for his rubber captain, Zoro decided to take a random left, only to get a face full of cobwebs in a dark corridor.

He was not amused.

As Zoro proceeded to bang his head on the alley wall, the green haired youth noticed something out of the corner out of his eye.

It was the entrance to a bar.

Feeling his mood instantly rise, Zoro went inside hoping to have his fill of rum, but as soon as he opened the door, the pirate forgot all about the liquor.

There, sitting at a corner table, was the Marine boy. He was out in the light this time, but his face was shadowed by a thick hood attached to his coat.

Forgetting about the flare in his pocket that was to be used in just such an occasion, Zoro pounced on the other man.

"You! I've got a bone to pick with you, kid!"

The young official glanced up, unnerved, "How many times do I got to tell you that you're wasting your time here, pirate?"

Zoro growled and grabbed the captain by his collar, "Apparently a few more. You're comin' with me."

The other Marines that were gathered in the pub rose, ready to protect their superior, but the boy waved them off.

"No. If he wants to talk, let him talk. I can take care of myself."

The pair left, then, and headed back into the ally.

"Okay, we're alone. What do you want?" the Marine asked.

"You didn't tell us the truth back on the ship, and I'm not leaving here until I get it."

The smaller male feigned confusion, "The truth?"

Zoro shoved the other against the wall, furious, "Don't play stupid with me. Where's Luffy? How do you know what his situation is?"

Now it was his opponents turn to be angry, "Because I _know_, okay? Why are you all even here? Didn't the note tell you not to follow your captain?"

The bushido faltered, "H-how did you know about the note?" his green eyes narrowed, "Just who are you?"

Instead of waiting for an answer, Zoro decided to rip the Marine's hood away. When the boy's face was finally revealed to him, the Straw Hat pirate felt his knees give out from under him.

There, standing before him, was Monkey D. Luffy, Marine Captain.

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><p>AN: How many saw that coming? I know a few did cause you told me so, but anyone else?<br>I'll try really hard to get the next chapter up soon, but the next few weeks are freakishly busy for me. And I don't just mean Christmas. So I'll see you gusy when I see you!


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Two updates this month what? Baha I know I said it probably wouldn't happen, but Santa gave me inspiration as an early present. And now I'm giving all of YOU a present :D PREPARE TO HAVE QUESTIONS ANSWERED, PEOPLES. Hehe.  
>Warning: I wrote this without my glasses and WITH the company of terrible headache, so please forgive the mistakes.<p>

* * *

><p>All Zoro could do was stare. And stare. And <em>stare<em>.

There was no way in hell that the kid in front of him was Luffy! Luffy was a cheery, lovable, moron of a pirate. This boy was an annoyed looking prick of a Marine. But other than a more polished presence, all physical signs pointed to the truth. The black hair, the dark eyes, the scar under one of those eyes…

Everything.

"You're the brat?"

Luffy nodded, "You could say that."

Zoro was livid and confused beyond even that of forming coherent thoughts. He repeated the question.

The smaller teen sighed this time, preparing his self for all the questions like this he'd have to answer in the near future, "I'm sorry. Be mad at me all you want, but I really only want to explain myself once. Get the crew here, would ya?"

The swordsman didn't say anything further, but instead grabbed his companion's arm and began to drag him to the center of town, where he fired off his flare. He wanted his answers _now_, damn it all, but Luffy was stubborn, and if he said he wouldn't talk now, then he wouldn't talk now.

So, they sat down to wait.

-x-

Nami, Robin, and Franky were the first to arrive.

"You found him! Oh go-…LUFFY?"

Their reaction was similar to Zoro's. The trio stared angrily at their captain, waiting for the last of their nakama to arrive. Unlike the swordsman, however, they had a few more things to say.

Well, Nami did, anyway.

"You baka! What the hell is going on? Why are you dressed like that? Why do you look so pissed? _We_ should be mad at _you! _Normal people don't run off in the middle of the night like that!"

The raven haired boy just looked at his navigator calmly, "I'll tell you everything when the others get here."

"When who gets here?"

Luffy turned around, only to meet three more confused faces, and one more loud voice.

"You! You son of a bitch! Where the hell have you been?"

He sighed again "Well Sanji, I guess now that everyone is here, why don't you all stop yelling at me and I'll explain."

The cook, as well as Nami and Zoro, complied as Luffy began to speak.

"Okay, it all started a few months ago. I got a message from my Grandpa…"

"Garp?"

Sanji growled, glaring at Usopp, "No stupid; his Grandpa Rome."

Luffy gave the pair a look before continuing "Anyway, he told me our bounties were up…"

"Mine was the highest, wasn't it? The Great Captain…"

"USOPP!"

"Eep! I'm sorry!"

Luffy groaned, "Are you done?" The sniper nodded timidly under his captain's frustrated tone. "Good. Where was I? Oh! Our bounties were up, and as a crew, we're apparently expensive enough to call in the big guns. That and they got tired of playing tag with us. Sore losers. We were to be executed on site by any Marine or other official who got the chance. No arrests, no trials, no chance. There were even rules as to how it was too be done, but please don't make me go into that."

The crew nodded as a whole, showing that they were following him thus far. Luffy took it as a cue to continue.

"I asked Grandpa if there was anything he could do, and he could, but it came at a price…"

The captain's pause made something drop in the Strawhats' stomachs. Chopper was the only one willing to ask.

"What kind of price?"

Luffy smiled halfway, "In order for us to even get the slightest pardon, I had to make a deal: give up everything about piracy that I hold on too and join the ranks of the Marines. Without me around, the price of the Mugiwara no Kaizoku plummets, and there is no point. You all get a free ride now," he cleared his throat uncomfortably; "_We_ won't bother you anymore."

The others felt their jobs drop. Seeing Luffy dressed as a Marine was one thing, but actually hearing him admit that, yes, he was on the other side now, really drove things home for them.

It wasn't right, like their world had been flipped on its side.

"Y-you're still one of us at heart, right bro?" Franky asked worriedly.

Luffy smiled wider, "Always. But it doesn't really matter now."

Zoro snapped, "It _always_ matters, Lu!" No one dared point out the broken hearted undertone of his voice. They didn't have too.

Luffy just shook his head; it was then that the swordsman noticed something.

"Luffy…where's your hat?"

The others gawked at their young friend. Never, in any time of knowing him, had the boy **ever** been seen without his namesake somewhere on his person. Not willingly.

The seventeen year old looked down at his feet, as if ashamed, "Um…Grandpa has Boshi now."

"But why, Captain-san? I'm sure even he knows how much you love it."

"He does, but when Garp said I had to give up _everything_ to save you guys, he meant _everything._ And Boshi was pretty much the symbol of all things pirate to him. So no Boshi for Luffy."

"But, Luffy, it's. Your. Freaking. Hat! I've seen you almost murder a guy for so much as getting it dirty! How the hell did Garp get it from you in one piece?" Usopp was screaming now, but he didn't care. The others were thinking it too.

The now ex-pirate laughed, "Shishishi. I never said that."

His nakama smiled for a moment; Pirate or not, Luffy never seemed to change. Not even Marine Vice Admiral Garp the Fist would make him give up his treasure so easily. Their joy was cut short however, when he began to walk away.

Chopper wasted no time running after his friend, "Where are you going?"

Luffy looked down, his own large eyes meeting those of his little doctor, "I have to go now, Chopper. I can't stay. I'm not even supposed to be talking to you guys."

The reindeer began to cry, "But we just found you! I want you to stay!"

Luffy smiled sadly, patting the younger on the head, "Sorry," he looked amongst the rest of the group, locking eyes with his first made "I have to get back to work. Please don't look at me like that, you guys weren't supposed to be here anyway."

He left them, then, standing in the street broken and without a captain.

* * *

><p>AN: *cringes* DON'T HURT ME. But at least it wasn't a cliffhanger, right? And yes, I did make a Hetalia reference up there. I'm that cool. Now you all know, it's Garp's fault. Yes, that was him at the beginning of the story. A few of you got it. Yay you!<br>Can't remember what else I was going to say so...bye.

..

...  
>Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I LIVE I SWEAR. But I have some really good reasons, really. But I won't go into that; I know you guys just want the chapter. This didn't turn out nearly how I thought it would, but I like it. Anyway, thanks to everyone who voted in my poll, here you have it! The winning idea! Also, I apologize in advanced for Luffy.

...I still don't own One Piece. It's quite depressing.

* * *

><p>"Ow! No… Ow! No… Ow! No…"<p>

"Usopp, what are you doing?"

The curly haired boy turned to his little doctor friend and smiled before pinching his arm again.

"Ow! No…I'm trying to wake up from this stupid dream!" he shouted.

Chopper blinked, "But we aren't in a dream, are we?"

The sniper laughed, "Of course we are! It's the only explination for this! Luffy is a marine, therefore the world is ending. But we obviously aren't dead, so we must be in Limbo. But Limbo sucks, and therefore, this is all one big crappy dream!"

The rest of the crew stared dumbly for a bit before Franky snorted.

"Usopp-bro, I think you're losing your touch..."

As the others laughed at the sniper's pouting face, Zoro continued to stare at the spot where his friend had last stood before them.

Suddenly, he growled.

The crew, having heard this, immediately stopped their fun and gave the swordsman an cluster of confused looks.

"Oi, marimo," Sanji said, "Why are you suddenly more feral than usual?"

Zoro didn't answer.

"Swordsman-san? Are you alright?"

He growled again, softer this time, "No! I'm not! This just ain't right."

"What's not right?" the archeologist asked.

"Luffy! How can we allow him to keep this bullshit going, just so we're 'safe'?"

"Well, oh wise bushido," Nami sneered, "What exactly do you suppose we do about it?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to get him back! Haven't I said this before?"

They stared at him, completely flabbergasted.

"As great as that sounds, how are we supposed to do it? Luffy isn't exactly the easiest pirate to catch," Usopp said.

"Ex-pirate…" Chopper murmured, wringing his hooves together and sniffing back a small tear.

Zoro smiled, patting the reindeer's fuzzy head, "Exactly."

"I still don't get it…"

The swordsman smile turned dark as he began to tie his black bandana around his head, "Who better to catch an ex-pirate than an ex-pirate hunter?"

-x-

The plan was simple: _do whatever the fuck Zoro tells you to do._ As much as some of the Mugiwaras hated the thought of following the directionally challenged youth, they knew they had to for a few reasons: He did have the most experience in tracking people down, and well, the swordsman was pissed. You obey pissed men with swords. Finally, Luffy had said they had to.

At the brief thought of the rubber boy, everyone's eyes turned to the small field beside the bushes they were currently hiding in. After asking (and maybe a little threatening) a few locals, the crew learned that the marines –along with the new, young captain –would be holding a training session just outside the city limits after lunch.

They'd been there for an hour before the Marines showed up.

"This is ridiculous!" Usopp had said, "I bet Lu is making them late by shoving his face aga- Oh."

He was cut off when the government agents filed onto the small field in equal, well-practiced rows of four.

It was a small group, most likely the new rookies, and in the front of them all stood Luffy.

This was the first time his crew had gotten a good look at their young friend since finding him. He'd shed the hooded coat he'd worn in town and replaced it with a plain white tank top that was covered by a lighter Marine shirt with the sleeves ripped off, his cuffed shorts where replaced by a pair of long jean pants that partially covered his black boots, and his usually shaggy black hair had been semi-neatly combed, and appeared shorter.

But what got the crew most, was the fact that Luffy was _frowning_. The expression was completely foreign on the perky boy's face. It almost looked like he disapproved of the group of soldiers before him.

The crew watched as he addressed them.

"Alright," Luffy sighed, "Seeing as you're all fucking idiots and can't follow simple orders, the higher ups think I need to drill you a little harder than usual. Personally, I agree." He smiled slightly, "Plus, seeing as one of them happens to like to beat me when I refuse, I can't say no. So, I want you all to work until you drop today, and then I want you to get off your fat asses and work again! Is that clear?"

The Marines didn't budge, nor did they answer him.

"I said, 'Is that clear?'" Luffy bellowed.

This time the small group of cadets stiffened for a second before saluting, "Sir yes sir, Captain Luffy sir!"

Then, they began.

The Strawhats watched as Luffy made the young rookies run, spar, do pushup after pushup, spar again, spar a third time, then finally allow the tired souls to fall to his feet.

"You all get a five minute break, then you get a real work out. You get to learn how to fight a Devil Fruit user! Shishishishi."

He looked like he was enjoying this a little too much.

The hiding pirates' jaws hit dirt. Was Luffy really going to make them fight him? _They_ couldn't take the Strawhat boy!

"This is wrong!" Chopper whispered, staring at his idol in shock and trying not to cry.

"It is, Chopper, It's like he's not our Luffy anymore." Nami tried to comfort the fifteen year old reindeer by patting his furry head, but couldn't stop her own heart from sinking.

Did their captain really have it in him to be this strict? He was always so care free with them; so happy. He let them be themselves, relaxing on deck or in their respective rooms, only gave a few orders in battle, and even when he did yell at the crew, it was out of desperation; not superiority.

The crew didn't know how good they had had it.

And right there, as she watched Luffy insult one of the slower recruits, Nami silently took back every time she doubted him, insulted him, hit him…Every negative feeling she'd ever had towards her captain, her _friend_.

Damn their bounties! They had to get him back- to them and himself.

-x-

Luffy watched his men try to cool down on their break, and felt a pang of guilt. He really was working them to death, but the old man didn't exactly give him a choice. His friends were on the line, and as much as Luffy hated to make innocent people suffer, these men weren't exactly on his "leave them be" list. These men where Marines, and since the raven haired teen couldn't take his pain out on those involved, he'd half to settle for the next best thing.

A gruff voice suddenly interrupted his bitter musings.

"Luffy, we need to talk."

The young captain turned around, glaring, "Why?"

"Because I said so."

"I'm not a little kid any more, old man. You can't use that excuse now."

The senior sighed heavily, "Listen, brat, I didn't come here to talk to you as sailors, I came to talk you as family."

The younger man never let his guard down, but he nodded, "Fine. What do you want _Grandpa?_"

"It's about your crew. You have to make them leave, Luffy. **Now.**"

* * *

><p>AN: As you can tell, I tried something oh so slightly different this chapter. What do you think? Anyway, I'm sorry again for Hard Ass Luffy up there. I have reasons I swear. And I'm also sorry for the cliffy. I had to do it. Because I'm evil. And I ran out of steam. Yeah.<p>

Can you tell things are about to get serious? *evil face*

And on that note, I really don't know when I'll be back. I'm having some major life and identity issues right now and may not get around to little things like writing, but I promise I'll try! I'll be back with you ASAP, because let's face it: I'm addicted to Fanfiction and don't plan on going to rehab any time soon. Or ever. Bye now! I love you!


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I LIVE I SWEAR! Ahem...anyway, sorry about the two month wait, guys. I'd give you a whole slew of excuses, but let's just leave it at this: I've been having issues and they needed some TLC. So about the chapter: it's a lot of dialogue, a lot of description, and even more feelings. I'd say ask my beta, but she's broken now...

I still own nothing! And it's still depressing!

* * *

><p>The crew watched cautiously as Luffy spoke to his grandfather. They had found it odd that the old man would show up like this, especially without landing a blow to Luffy's skull first, but then again, the boy was a Marine now, and therefore Garp could easily talk to him without having to cover it up later.<p>

The thought of that still made everyone's stomach turn.

Suddenly, Luffy's posture went frigid, and though he wasn't facing them, the pirates knew that something was bothering their friend. His muscles where tense, his back was like a rod, and his hands were curled into fists at his side.

The crew couldn't hear what the two were talking about, but they had a feeling it had to do with them, especially when the relatives parted and Luffy turned around.

He looked positively livid.

But more importantly, he looked afraid.

-x-

Luffy was beyond angry as he mulled over his conversation with Garp.

"_W-what are you talking about, old man?" he had asked._

_Garp's face was wary as he explained, "Don't play stupid with me, boy. There are those more...powerful…than me, in our organization, Luffy, and they know about our deal."_

_The young captain could feel the hair on the back of his neck raise, but he did his best to hold a passive face._

"_They know and they aren't happy," Garp continued, "Your friends _must_ get off this island or it could end horribly for everyone."_

_Luffy was pretty sure his nails were drawing the blood from his palms by now._

"_Is…is there anything you can do? At all?"_

_The gray haired man nodded slightly, scowling, "I tried, brat. I couldn't change their minds, but I could calm them down. Now they only want your crew behind bars instead of dead. You just have to do something for us."_

_Luffy's eyes widened hopefully "Yeah?"_

"_You have to make them believe you want to be here. Make them hate you. Make. Them. Give. Up."_

_The smaller D gulped, hope wavering, "What makes you think that'll work? They're stubborn people."_

"_Aye, but I know you can be very convincing if you have to be. I don't care what it takes. Just make it happen."_

_Something in Luffy's thoughts clicked together, causing his onyx eyes to narrow, "Why do you suddenly care so much about them, Garp?"_

_The old man growled deep in his throat, "I don't. But believe it or not, I care about _you_. If something happened to those bastards out there, you'd be devastated. I can't have you be alone again…You have three days."_

_Luffy couldn't argue that and Garp knew it. So without another word, the old Marine left his grandson to think._

_But before his grandfather was out of sight, Luffy called after him with one more pressing question, "Do I at least get to know who I'm dealing with here?"_

_Garp never turned around to answer._

No matter how much Luffy hated this, he knew he had no choice. But he'd worry about everything later, for now the stupid rookies in front of him needed to be dealt with.

"Oi!" He hollered, "Break's over! Get up."

The poor Marine trainees scrambled to gather in front of their commanding officer, "Sir, yes sir!"

If at all possible, Luffy's face hardened further.

"Shut up and get to work. You'll be sparring with each other instead of me. With the mood I'm in I may or may not," he put up his fingers, bending them to make air quotes, "'accidentally' kill one of you."

The rookie's faces were horrified, but they didn't dare stick around to find out the validity of that statement. Thus, the field burst out into a frenzy of battle cries, the sound of swords clashing, and gunfire.

None of them noticed Luffy had left.

-x-

The crew continued to watch from their hiding spot, once again awed by the apparent harshness their bubbly friend had buried.

Just what had Garp said to him? Luffy _never_ used the word "kill". They were under the assumption it wasn't in his vocabulary. Yes, they'd seen what he could accomplish if angry enough and knew that Luffy was very much capable of ending someone's life, but for him to actually consider doing it just because he felt like he could?

"That isn't Luffy. Please, someone tell me that that monster isn't Luffy!" Usopp cried.

Sanji, being the closest to the young sniper, gently put a calloused hand on his shoulder, and turned him so they were eye to eye.

"Usopp, quit it. You know that Luffy would never do anything like this on purpose. He's just…trying to prove he's a capable marine so Garp will keep the deal going," he looked to Zoro, "Right, Marimo?"

Zoro, who had been lost in his own mind, sighed heavily through his nose, "I…I don-…," he paused as he looked out over his nakama, taking in their stricken expressions and tear stained cheeks, "Yeah. He's just…acting." He couldn't even bring himself to insult the blond back, but thankfully, Sanji didn't notice, and if he did, Franky cut him off.

"This is so not super…"

The others couldn't help but force smiles at the cyborg's forced attempt to lighten the mood.

"But there's still something wrong here…"

All eyes turned to Nami, and the redhead fidgeted as she tried to find her words, "Luffy can't lie…"

The mood instantly blackened once more as that truth sank in.

Robin, ever the voice of reason, spoke up next, "_Acting_ and _lying_ are not the same thing, Navigator-san."

Nami blinked, "I don't understand…"

Everyone listened carefully as Robin explained, "Think of his act as if Captain-san was pretending, which he essentially is."

The younger woman nodded hesitantly, "I...I see."

They left it at that.

Zoro, who had been watching, sighed again before turning to Chopper. The little doctor had been awfully quiet during the debates, and he knew that the reindeer was probably the most upset about the situation, besides Zoro himself.

After all, Luffy was Chopper's everything.

"Chopper? What do you have to say about all this?"

Chopper looked up at the swordsman, large brown eyes overflowing underneath the shade of his big pink hat. It was painfully obvious that he was trying to be strong.

"I…"

The older teen knelt down to his friend's height, "You what?" he asked softly.

"I…"

Zoro smiled sadly, "It's okay to tell us, Chopper. I promise we won't say make fun of you."

"I'm scared, Zoro…"

Before anyone could answer or comfort their youngest, a new, laughing voice spoke up behind them.

"You should be."

* * *

><p>AN: I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY. sob. I MADE LUFFY PISSY. I'M SUCH A HORRIBLE PERSON. *sniffle* Anywho, there ya go. A longish chapter full of things. :D And fyi, peoples, I made a tumblr (finally), so if you're interested in getting to know ol' BB here, or you want to know progress on stories, come follow me! Just look for camera-one.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU GUISE I SWEAR. OAO. Fuckin' real life getting in my way. Doesn't it know I have fanfiction to write? Anyway, as my own form of an appology, I did a slightly longer than average chapter full of feels for you. Because I love you. Also, this chapter wasn't beta-d, so forgive my mistakes that I'm sure to have made.

* * *

><p>The crew stood and spun around, and they were shocked to find that the voice wasn't new at all; they just hadn't recognized it.<p>

Luffy stood there, dark eyes slightly glazed over as he stared them all down. He held no expression on his face other than a small, sad smile, which contrasted with the light tone he had used to make his presence known. The young man's arms were folded stiffly across his chest, and his feet were separated into a harsh stance.

He was obviously trying to separate himself from their situation and failing.

They instantly wanted to ask him just what it was they were supposed to be afraid of, but he cut them off, tone flattening as he said, "I thought I told you to leave."

When none of the crew members made any inclination that they were going anywhere, Luffy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Sunuvabitch you guys are stubborn."

Zoro smiled devilishly, "We get it from our captain," Luffy's eyes narrowed, "Now shut up and come back to the _Sunny_. This whole deal or whatever you have is bullshit!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes!" the others interjected.

Luffy's demeanor darkened, just like it had after his talk with Garp, and suddenly the crew wondered how he looked so _tall_. Their captain had always been a small man, but now, standing in front of them and seemingly even with Zoro, he looked positively menacing.

If he wasn't putting effort into the conversation before, he certainly was going to now.

Then, he looked at the rest of them, and the crew noticed it was the same look he had given the rookies not fifteen minutes ago, and just like that, the Mugiwaras were actually afraid of Luffy, just like he said they should be.

"Wanna know a secret, swordsman?" he said.

Zoro remained silent, but he raised an eyebrow, signaling Luffy to continue.

"Just now, when I was talking to Grandpa, I realized something. I _like_ being a marine. I _like_ the authority I'm given over these morons. And I'm going to _like_ taking you ass holes down if you don't get out of here by sunset."

Everyone, Zoro included, turned ashen.

"YOU'RE LYING!" Nami screeched from her spot off to the side, "You would never do this!" Her eyes began to tear, "Luffy please, just…come home. Come back to us! If this is some crap about us not respecting you, then I'm _sorry_. But please don't do this anymore."

Luffy just laughed in her face, leaning down slightly so he and the ginger were eye level, "Begging doesn't become you, Nami, and you said so yourself that I. Can't. Lie. "

She screamed and raised her hand to hit him, just as she had so many times before, but this time, instead of making contact with his elastic skull, she felt her wrist being grabbed. When she looked up, Nami realized that Luffy had actually blocked her.

"I won't be taking any more of your abuse, woman," he pushed her aside with ease, laughing again as she rubbed the now sore appendage and began to cry harder.

Now, it was Sanji's turn to scream, "YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU HURT A LADY!" And in the same routine manner as Nami, the cook tried to punish his captain just as he always had.

He failed, too, but wasn't nearly as lucky as the redhead behind him. Luffy easily dogged the kick, and briefly took in the man's shocked expression before him before striking Sanji's ducked head with a rubbery fist.

The chef dropped like a sack of potatoes, and though he was still conscious, it was obvious that he was disoriented.

"Sanji!" Chopper cried, running to his fallen friend's side.

"I…I'm okay…just don't ask me to think for a couple days."

The others were so shocked that even Zoro resisted making a joke at the blond man's expense. Their eyes flickered between the two pirates on the ground in front of them, to the man in front of them that they thought they all knew. Luffy would never strike a comrade like that! Not even when he and Usopp had fought had the captain been so cold.

He really was on the other side now, wasn't he?

Luffy, noticing their shocked expressions, allowed himself to smile sadly one more time, "Told ya so."

And once again, he walked away from them, and this time, they didn't call out, even though they wanted to.

Once he was out of sight, Chopper began to tend to Sanji's head, while the other's looked on listlessly.

"Are you sure you're okay? That's a really big knot."

The older pirate stood, swaying only slightly, "Y-yeah," he lit a cigarette and took a large drag, "He was holding back, right Nami-swan?"

The girl nodded, "He could have easily broken my wrist or killed Sanji if he wanted to. You know that, Chopper."

"Although I must say," Sanji continued, "I suddenly feel a bit bad for our enemies. If a half-assed punch hurts this much, I don't wanna imagine one at full force."

Usopp, who had been standing back silently with Robin and Franky, came forward, panicking, "I don't know how to process this. Do we fight Luffy now? Is he our enemy? Or do we try to get him back again?" he looked to the rest of the group for guidance, but only Robin seemed willing to answer.

"Captain-san would not want us to lose faith in him, even if he claims not to be one of us anymore. But we cannot go against his wishes. It is really up to Swordsman-san…"

"NO!" Zoro cut her off with a yess, "I don't want it to be up to me!"

The crew stared at their acting captain, wide eyed. Zoro was not one to lose his cool like that, but it seemed like he had reached his limit. They noticed bags that had formed under his eyes over the past few months, the tiredness in his facec, and the unshed tears threatening to overflow from frustration.

Seeing his best friend actually willing to fight them was the last straw.

"Lu-Luffy is the captain. Not me. But he's not _our_ captain now. He's theirs. I've always gone by what he ordered, and he ordered us to leave him be, but I owe my life to that idiot, I can't let him throw his away…I…I don't know what to do anymore."

The others could only stare at him in pity as he slowly began to break down, but before he could completely, Franky had an idea.

"Wait," they looked up at the cyborg, "Luffy bro ordered _us_ not to come after him, right?" nods and murmurs agreed with him, "Didn't he mention a brother or something once? What if we got him to do it? Then we could get him back without actually disobeying him."

Six pairs of eyes widened before smiling.

"Franky, you're a genius!" Usopp praised.

Zoro wiped his eyes, and the spark returned to them as he stood up straighter, "Alright everyone, get your sorry asses back to the ship. We have a Firefist to call."

* * *

><p>AN: Luffy's nuckin futs and I broke Zoro. I don't like to break Zoro. I'm sorry. BUT ACE WILL BE HERE SOON, YES YES. Gotta love loopholes.<p>

ps: I feel like my style is a little different lately. Is that just me or...? Tell me what you think and I'll give you a Strawhat shaped cookie :)


	9. Chapter 10

AN: *crawls forth from the abiss* I..I live! The semester is done and I passed ever'thing so here have a chapter! (I apologize in advanced for the following things: fillerishness and possibly OOC D's). Anyway I am SO FUCKING SORRY YOU HAVE NO IDEA that this took so long. T_T Please accept some Garp and Luffy interaction as a bribe not to hate me.  
>_<p>

As Garp watched his youngest grandson torment the rookies again and again, he found that for the first time in his life, he regretted something. He had always dreamed of the day his rubber brained grandchild gave up the piracy dream to join him in the ranks, and had pushed the boy almost mercilessly to do so.

Apparently Luffy retained more of that ordeal than he let on.

The dark haired youth had already showed a prowess for strategy and the ability to be ruthless if need be. And he damn well knew how to survive.

But since joining the old man in the ranks, Luffy had stopped smiling and seemed all around darker. Garp didn't know his youngest had it in him to be such a strict individual. He had always figured that Luffy's bubbly personality would carry through to the Marines, not disappear completely.

Maybe it was the resentment of being ripped from his crew or the final showing of a long dormant hatred for his grandfather (which, sadly, the man didn't doubt).

What Garp feared the most about his grandson's new demeanor though, was that it was simply the birth of who Luffy really was; that the smiles and laughs and childish behavior were really a cover up for this darker frame of mind.

So far in the months that he had been here, Luffy had already made a name for himself as someone not to cross. He'd sent six of the lower ranked Marine's to the infirmary, scared two into quitting, and made one of the other captains cry with just an angry glance.

Sure, the boy had a reputation as a pirate, but he'd always returned to being cheerful once the danger had passed. That had yet to happen.

Garp had started to debate calling off the whole plan just so he could have his real grandson back, but being the stubborn and prideful old fart he was, decided against it. He really did enjoy having one of his boys finally join him in the business.

With a sigh, the Vice-Admiral shooed the thoughts from his mind and went to find Luffy. It was about two in the afternoon, which meant the boy was either training, or eating.

Garp bet on the latter and headed for the mess hall in the middle of their base.

As predicted, he found him seated at a table in the back, inhaling a slab or twelve of meat and looking quite bored. He inwardly groaned as he approached the table and thought about the conversation he was about to have.

"Luffy," he called, "I need to have a word with you."

The ex-pirate looked up from his meal, "Yeah Gramps?"

Luffy didn't look too pleased to be facing the old man, but Garp continued anyway.

"You're not happy here, are you?"

The youth scoffed, "What gave it away?"

The older man glared half-heartedly, "Don't be a smart ass, boy, I'm serious."

Luffy sighed, mentally acknowledging how that seemed to happen a lot lately, before answering.

"I don't know, old man. I hate being here, especially under these circumstances, but at the same time…."

"What is it boy?"

"At the same time, _I like it_."

Garp's eyes widened. He certainly hadn't been expecting that answer.

"Care to elaborate?"

Luffy seemed to fumble with his words for a moment, "Um…well, I hate to admit it, but being a Marine is kind of fun. People listen to ya here, and I have yet to get punched in the head by someone…."

The old man laughed, "I suppose that is a nice change for you. Take a walk with me, Luffy."

The young captain hesitated, "You're gonna punch me just so I can't say that anymore."

"I PUNCH YOU WITH LOVE! Now get up and let's go."

Luffy didn't say anything else, but rose from the table and followed his elder out the door. They walked in silence for a while before coming to a stop at the edge of town, near the bay. Luffy saw his ship calmly sitting in the water, as if teasing him to come home.

"Gramps, am I really doing the right thing here?" He asked.

"Of course! You're a big strong Marine now!"

"That's not what I mean."

Garp watched his grandson run a hand through his trimmed hair in frustration, but didn't answer him. He didn't have to, because Luffy just continued talking.

"I-I feel like such a traitor. And they're right. The danger is part of being a pirate," he looked to the older man, "But is it so wrong of me to want to try to keep them out of it anyway?"

"No, boy, it's not. Even when you were younger you carried an air of loyalty about you, and a fierce protectiveness to back it up."

"But my friends…you didn't see their faces grandpa…"

"Maybe not, but I don't need to have to know that you all share a great care for each other. I know you may not believe me, but I do love you, Luffy, and I am proud of you. I just want you to be happy."

Luffy gave him a skeptical look, "Yes, because trying to kill your grandson on multiple occasions is the best way to show him that you love him."

Garp frowned, "I did not try to kill you, brat! I WAS TRYING TO TURN YOU INTO A STRONG MARINE."

Luffy frowned back, "You're a mean old man, you know that?"

He was promptly met with a Fist of Love.

"Owwww! YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T GONNA DO THAT YOU ASSHOLE."

"DON'T CALL YOUR GRANDFATHER AN ASSHOLE YOU BRAT."

As Luffy continued to nurse his new concussion, Garp couldn't help but smile that for just a second, his youngest grandson was back to normal.

"Oi, Luffy," he said after a minute.

The boy sniffed, "What?"

"Don't tell your brother, but you're my favorite."

Luffy stiffened at the mention of Ace, and smiled grimly up at the gray-haired D.

"Don't let Ace hear you say that. He's gonna be pissed enough about this as it is."

Garp's face fell, and he let out a yell then, screaming for the ranks to start fire proofing the base. As he ran off, he smiled to himself.

Maybe Luffy would be fine after all.  
>_<p>

AN: omgwhotaughtluffysarcasmwhat 

*sigh* Forgive me yet? No? That's okay I still love you all ;u;.

Also what the fuck happened to my style.


	10. Chapter 11

AN: What's this? An update? I live? Whaaaaaaat? Haha hi little pirates, miss me? ;) Anyway, this chapter is short, but I randomly got a brief moment of inspiration and was like "why the hell not". So here, have an update because I feel really good lately and I love you.

* * *

><p>Ace should have known something was wrong the second reports of his little brother's "escapades" stopped heading the newspapers. Foolishly, the fire user had figured Luffy had grown some sense and decided to lay low for a while.<p>

Yeah, right.

And now here he was, a vague letter in his hands from Zoro telling him to get to the _Sunny_ as soon as possible and that there would be an explanation waiting there for him because all he needed to know right now was that it had to do with Luffy.

With a sigh, Ace got his stuff together and set off; luckily he wasn't far.

-x-

Upon arriving at the _Thousand Sunny_, Ace immediately noticed how quiet the normally rambunctious ship was.

_Oh my god Luffy's dead_ he thought. Before he could call out, though, a tuff of green hair peered over the edge of the railing.

"Oi! Ace, is that you? It's about time you got here!"

Ignoring the remark, the older man huffed and leaped onto the deck, immediately going into big brother mode and bombarding the crew with questions like "where's Luffy? Is he okay? What happened? _What did he do now?_"

Franky and Robin, having never met the fire user, were slightly taken aback by this, but they figured that such behavior should be expected from a relative of their captain.

"Calm down, bro! Luffy's fine, so to speak."

Ace's head whipped to the direction of the cyborg, "what do you mean, 'so to speak'?!" If he didn't get answers **now** someone was going to burn.

Zoro stepped forward, seeing the intensity of the situation.

"There's really no easy way to explain this, so I might as well get to the point. The Marines…"

"Oh god he got caught didn't he? Why haven't you busted him out yet?! Wh-…."

"Ace! Calm down, he wasn't captured by the Government. He, um, he _joined_ it."

"Wanna run that by me again?" Ace deadpanned. There's no way in hell his brother would become a Marine. Zoro was obviously suffering from a hangover and was loopy. That's all. Ace looked to the other crew members to see if he was even close to right, but their solemn faces said otherwise.

"It's true, Luffy is a Marine now."

Ace's eyes narrowed and the Strawhats could see his muscle tense as he spoke.

"I need a how and a why. Now."

-x-

"Ace is here."

"I know, boy."

"What do we do now? He's going to get involved!"

"You know he won't leave without a fight. Or you."

"I won't go with him, but I won't fight either. I can't."

"Then we'll need a plan. He won't believe you're serious about this like they did."

-x-

By the time the story ended, the Strawhats had cleared a safe distance between themselves and Ace. The Whitebeard commander's fists were aflame, and his eyes looked like they might as well be.

"So…" he said, "So this is all Garp's fault?"

The other's nodded.

Ace began to pace, "I should have known that old bastard had something to do with this! I had heard of this new Marine brat taking rank and scaring the fuck out of the rookies and I noticed that the papers had had a distinct lack of Luffy in them lately…I should have known something was up! It was all at the same time and I just should have known!"

Robin layed a hand on the young pirate's shoulder, "Do not blame yourself for this, Ace-san. There was nothing you could have done. Captain-san thought this was the best course of action at the time and you wouldn't have changed his mind."

Ace deflated at the older woman's touch, "But he's my little brother. I'm supposed to keep him from doing stupid shit like this. I don't care if he's his own pirate now. He's still my responsibility and I just sailed away from him and let this happen."

"We all let it happen," Zoro said, "We let Luffy believe we needed his protection because we were weak. We've tried to get him back on our own, but he's determined to see this deal through, just like with anything else. You haven't let him down, Ace. That's actually why we brought you here. Luffy said _we_ couldn't help him, he said nothing about you. If anyone can talk some sense into that idiot, it's you."

Ace smiled, pounding a fist into his hand, and the Strawhats could see the gears his head already forming a plan, "Oh, I'll do more than that."

* * *

><p>AN: I'm so sorry it's short! I hate short! :( *sigh* While I can't promise that I'm back in the game like I used to be, I'm glad I could get <em>something <em>up after so long. Thank you everyone who left words of encouragement and waited so patiently. It really means a lot. Now if only I could work on Redemption with the same success...


	11. UPDATE TIME

sooooo….good news and bad news about this

let's do the bad news first so I can try to cheer you up later:

I am no longer a part of this fandom. I have simply lost interest (not just in OP. In anime in general….turning 23 does that to some people)

Also I will no longer be posting my work on this site.

good news:

I'm going to attempt to finish my remaining fics because you guys were just so loyal throughout everything that you deserve it. I may be "gone", but I still love my little pirates.

As for the posting, I don't mean I've stopped entirely—not at all. I just moved, like many others, to ao3. You can find me under the name Pchew (I won't be moving my works over there...I'm too lazy). c:

Thank you my babies,

BrokenBridges/Pchew

ps if you still love me after this, come find me on tumblr under the same name 3


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